Since late February, the metal has been trading mostly sideways, but on Thursday’s session fell again on weak German manufacturing data, Reuters reported.

In addition, the situation at the Las Bambas copper mine in Peru escalated, as a judge ordered jail time for lawyers who represented indigenous villagers who blockaded the mine in protest, according to the Reuters report.

Stocks Up on U.S.-China Talks

The ongoing trade talks between the U.S. and China continued this week in Washington following last week’s sessions in Beijing; once again, markets are showing great sensitivity to any semblance of good (or bad) news out of the negotiations.